Arc welding apparatus



Sept. 1945. E. s. HEBELER 2,384,618

ARC WELDING APPARATUS Filed July 25, 1942 2 Sheets--Sheet l IN V EN TOR.

BY [aw/52a 5 H5554 5e P M W p 1945- E. s. HEBE\LER 2,384,618

ARC WELDING APPARATUS Filed July 23, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN VEN TOR.

H fbn/APO 51955545? 55 1 BY Patented Sept. 11, 1945 ARC WELDINGAPPARATUS Edward S. Hebeler, Williamsville, N. Y., assignor, by mesneassignments, of one-half to Unit Rays, Inc.. Cleveland, Ohio, acorporation of Ohio Application July 23, 1942, Serial No. 451,983

4 Claims.

This invention relates to the art of arc welding with the use of awelding rod or wire which serves as one of the electrodes, and moreparticularly to means or devices whereby the oper ator is enabled tovariably control the current employed by him'in welding operationswithout having to leave the particular location where he may be working.

Devices have been suggested for enabling welding operators to accomplishthis result, but all of these devices with which I am acquainted involvecomplicated arrangements of electrical parts or circuits and areexpensive of production.

The general purpose and object of my invention is to provide a simpleand relatively inexpensive construction of apparatus or devices whichwill enable the operator to effect variable control oi the weldingcurrent in the manner described and, more limitedly, to enable him toeffect this variable control by means of a device or apparatus embodyingpneumatic means for operating the element (which controls the supply ofcurrent to the work. While my invention is capable of more generalapplication, it will be round to be particularly useful in enabling theoperator to suitably reduce or fade out" the welding current whenapproaching the end of a seam weld before withdrawing the are, therebypreventing the formation of what are known in the art as craters" in theends of Such seams.

I accomplish the foregoing objects in and through the construction andarrangements of parts shown in the drawings fonming part hereof whereinFig. 1 shows a diagrammatic elevational view of one form of apparatus ordevice for realizing my invention; Fig. 2 a central longitudinalsectional view through a schematic form of bleeder valve included insaid apparatus; Fig. 3 a view, similar to Fig. 1, of a modified form ofmy invention; Fig, 4 a central longitudinal sectional view through aschematic .form of pressure control valve embodied in the apparatusshown in Fig. 3; Fig. 5 a diagrammatic elevational view of a portion ofthe apparatus or device shown in Fig. 1, but with a modified form ofbleeder valve; Fig. 6 a diagrammatic elevational view of a portion ofthe apparatus or device shown in Fig. 3, but with a modified form ofpressure control mechanism; and Fig. 'I a view showing a portion of thedevice or apparatus of Fig. 3 equipped with a still further form orpressure control mechanism.

Describing first the embodiment of my invention shown in Figs. 1 and 2,III denotes a welding current generator from which a conductor H leadsto a variable current controlling device, the same being shown as arheostat M2 consisting of a plurality of resistance grids, to one end ofwhich rheostat the said conductor is connected, l3 denotes a contactblade pivoted at one end, as shown at H, and adapted, by its movement,to vary the resistance in the current flowing through the conductor ll,conductor H, the electrode rod or wire X and the conductor l5 whichconnects the generator and the work, indicated at Y.

For the purpose of enabling the operator to effect any desired variationin the current used for welding, without leaving the location of hiswork and without having to remove his hand from the welding rod holder,I have provided the following pneumatic equipment: 16 denotes a vacuumpump operating through a pipe H to exhaust air from and produce apartial vacuum rwithin a chamber l8 provided between one end of a housinl8 and an abutment in the form of a flexible diaphragm l9 extendingacross the said housing. 20 denotes a rod connected at one end to thediaphragm and at its other end to the sliding contact blade l3 above thepivotal support therefor. The rod 20 extends through a suitable guide 2|carried by the housing 18, between which guide and a stop 22 on sa d roda coiled spring 23 is interposed, said spring tending to move the rod'20 in a direction to cause the contact blade l3 to move from the "offpoint stop 24 in a direction to increasingly out out the resistance,thereby to effect 9. corresponding variation in the amount of currentemployed in the welding operation.

'25 denotes the casing of a graduating bleeder valve connected by asuitable hose or other fiexilble tube 26 with the chamber l8 and havinga manually operated sliding cylinder valve body 25 provided with anoperating stem 25 and. adapted by its outward movement to uncover one ormore of the lbleeder holes 21, 28, 29, 30. thereby to vary the degree ofvacuum created within the said chamber by the pump l6, which ispreferably driven at constant speed. A spring 25 tends to hold the valve.body 2-5 in the position shown in Fig. 2, whereby all of the bleederholes are uncovered and the vacuum pump is ineffective to move thediaphragm l9 against the resistance of the spring 23.

With the parts constructed and arranged as shown and described and withthe vacuum pump in operation and with the valve body in the positi nshown in Fig. 2, the vacuum pump will be ineffective to operate thediaphragm ll, due to the fact that the bleeder holes 2'|ll areuncovered, and the spring II will move the sliding contact blade II tothe dotted line position thereby to engage the stop ll, whereuponcurrent will be supplied at full strength to the electrode and the work.By moving the stem 2! upwardly, the operator is enabled to cover one ormore of the bleeder openings with the cylindrical portion of the valvebody 25', thereby to render the action of the vacuum pump upon thediaphragm increasingly effective, and to effect thereby a correspondingreduction in the current supplied to the welding arc. By completelycovering all of the bleeder openings, the vacuum pump will be enabled tomove the diaphragm I! to the position indicated in Fig. 1, wherein thecontact blade I! will have struck the "03 point 24, whereupon thewelding current will be entirely out off or "faded ou In actualpractice, any well known means will be provided for automaticallyretaining the stem 25 and the valve body 2! in any position to whichthey may be elevated by the operator as, for instance, any known form ofratchet and paw] mechanism.

.In the modification shown in Figs. 3 and 4, instead of using vacuummeans for controlling and for fading out the welding current, I employsuper-atmospheric pressure-operated means for accomplishing the sameresult. In this view, the welding current generator, the conductorswhich lead to the electrode and to the work, and the electrode and thework, as well as the sliding contact blade and the stops therefor andthe resistance--all are designated by the same numerals which areemployed to designate these parts respectively on Fig. 1. However,instead of employing a. diaphragm operated by a vacuum to vary thestrength of the current forming the are, I accomplish the same currentregulations by the use of compressed air operating against theopposition of a spring.

The sliding contact blade in Fig. 3 is shown as pivotally supported atll above its lower end; and with the said contact blade in the positionshown in full lines, the maximum current will be supplied to the weldingarc. The lower end of the contact blade I! is plvotally connected to arod 33 which is connected at its opposite end to an abutment in the formof a piston 84 mounted within a cylinder 3!, there being a coiled spring36 surrounding the piston rod within the cylinder, said spring beinginterposed between one end of the piston and a supporting guide 31provided therefor at the end or the cylinder opposite the head 38.

When the piston is held by the spring II in the position shown in thedrawings, the resistanee will be cut out, and the maximum weldingcurrent will be supplied to the arc. However, in order to enable theoperator to vary the strength oi current forming the arc, the followingconstruction is provided:

Fluid under pressure from any source, as from a compressed air main 3!,is supplied through a pipe 40 and reducing valve ll (where necessary) tothe casing 42 of a graduating pressure-control valve assembly, such asshown schematically in Fig. 4. A tube 43 deliversair from said pressurecontrol valve assembly through the cylinder head 38 and against the endof the piston adjacent to said head. M denotes a valve bo y mountedwithin the casing 42 and adapted, by its movement, to control the amountand pressure of air supplied from the casing through the tube 48 againstthe piston 84.

The valve body 44 is mounted on an operating stem 44, which stem extendsthrough a chamber ll in the top of the casing I! with which chamher thepipe is connected. This chamber communicates, when the valve body isdepressed. with the chamber 40 from which the pipe 43 leads to thecylinder head 88. The valve body ll is pro vided with a lower guide stem40" extending through the chamber 4' and mounted in a bore 41 providedtherefor in a plug 41 which is threaded into the lower end of the casing42. The bore ll communicates with an L -shaped passage ll formed in thesaid lug, the upper end oi which passage communicates with the chamberIt and the lower end of which passage is adapted to communicate with thebore 41 when the valve body 44 is held to its seat by the spring 4!.

ll denotes a lever, one end of which is shown as pivoted to an arm IIprojecting from the easing and which lever extends acros th top of thestem 44' of the valve, the top of the stem being held against the saidlever by the spring I, which tends to seat the valve body.

'2 denotes a wire which is connected to the swinging end of the lever inand which extends through a flexible tub 58 having its upper endconnected to and supported by a bracket N carried by the casing 42. Thelower end of the tube is connected to a bracket I! having a grippingmember I supported thereby and preferably formed therewith. This bracketalso has a depending arm 51 to which there is pivoted a lever II, oneend of which is connected to the wire I! and the opposite end of whichextends in proximity to the member I8 and constitutes a gripping memberwhich can be conveniently grasped, together with the member ll, by thehand of the operator. 5! denotes a coiled spring which is connected atone end to the swinging end or the lever ll, thereby to assist thespring 40 in holding the valve body 44 seated when operating with fullwelding current.

With the parts constructed and arranged as described and as shown inFigs. 3 and 4, by moving the gripping members 56 and II toward eachother the operator can draw the wire I! downwardly, thereby to move thevalve stem 44' downwardly and thus to increasingly and gradually varythe amount and pressure of compressed air supplied through the head ofthe cylinder ll, with a consequent variation in the throw of the pistonand the movement of the contact blade it toward the stop 24, against theresistance of the spring II.

It will be seen that the operator is thus enabled to vary the strengthof current supplied to the welding arc, without leaving his weldingposition and also without the necessity for changing his welding rodwith reference to the .work. When his electrode approaches the end of aseam which he is welding, or when he may find it necessary to change hiselectrode, the operator can gradually reduce and finally entirely cutoil or "fade out" the welding current, whereby the formation of a craterin the work will be avoided. The contact blade I! will be restored tothe full-current position shown in Fig. 3 when the operator releases hisgrip upon the ripping members 5! and ll, thereby enabling the spring llto seat the valve body 44 and vent, through the passage 48 and bore 41'the pressure fluid which has moved the piston 34 against the action ofthe spring 85.

The valves for controlling the amount of vacuum operating in the chamberI8 and for conprovided whereby the valve 44' will be automaticallyretained in any position to which it may be moved by means oi thegripping members 54,

54, as by the employment oi any known form of ratchet-and-pawlmechanism.

In Fig. 5. I have shown a modification of the invention shown in Fig. 1wherein a diflerent construction oi bleeder valve is employed, the partsof the apparatus shown in Fig. 1 which are repeated in Fig. 5 beingdesignated by the reference numerals which are employed in the formerfigure. In this view. it will be noted that the pipe 26 communicateswith a passage 59' in the top of a casing 59. the said passage beingadapted to communicate at its bottom with a chamber 60 within saidcasing, said chamber being provided with one or more bleeder openingsii. The bottom of the chamber is closed by a plug 62 which is threadedinto the bottom of the casing and within which plug there isreciprocably mounted a valve stem 63 carrying at its upper end a needlevalve 64 which is adapted by its adjustment to control and entirely cutoil the flow of air entering the passa e from the chamber 80, thereby tovary the amount of vacuum operating upon the diaphragm I. A coil spring65 tends to normally hold the valve stem in its lowered position and theneedle valve in its open position. In practice, the valve stem will beprovided with means for automat cally retaining the same in any positionto which it may be moved by the operator, such as any of the well knownratchet and pawl devices.

The operation or the modification shown in Fig. 5 is substantially thesame as the operation of the apparatus or device shown in Fig. 1. Whenthe valve is in the position shown in Fig. 5, no vacuum will be producedin the chamebr I! which will sufllce to operate the diaphragm i3, andthe maximum current will be supplied to the welding arc. By pressingupwardly on the valve stem 63. the operation of the vacuum pump will berendered increasingly effective in operating the diaphragm l9, with acorresponding reduction in the amount of current supplied to the weldingare.

When the passage 58 is completely closed, the vacuum pump will beoperating with maximum efliciency upon the diaphragm l9, and the supplyof current will be entirely cut off.

In Fig. 6 there is shown a further modification of my invention as setforth in Fig. 3, the parts which are common to Figs. 3 and 6 beingdesignated by the numerals which are employed on the former figure. Itwill be noted that, in Fig. 6, instead of using the flexible tube 53 andwire 52, and locating the valve parts 42 and 50-54 in proximity to thecylinder 35, I have moved the valve casing 42 and its operating parts toa point adjacent to the work and have connected the valve casing byflexible tubes to the tubes 4|! and 43. The tube 40' is connected withthe chamber 45 in the casing 42 by means of a flexible tube 68, and thechamber 46 in the said casing is connected with the tube 43 by aflexibletube 81. The casing is provided with a handle or gripping member 44which is arranged in such proximity to the lever 50 as to enable both ofthese members to be grasped by the hand of the operator, thereby to openthe valve 44 more or less. In practice the valve stem 44' in thismodification, as well as that shown in Fig. 3, will be provided withmeans for automatically retaining the same in any position to which itmay be moved by the operator, such as any of the well known ratchet andpawl devices.

In Fig. 7 there is shown a still further modiflcation of the inventionshown in Fig. 3, wherein the pipes 48' and 43 are connected by means ofa T 69, from the intermediate branch'of which a flexible tube 10 leadsto a valve control mechanism which may be identical with that shown inFig. 5 and wherein said supply of pressure fluid through the cylindricalhead 38 may be completely bled through the openings 8| in the casing I.As the parts within the casing will be identical as to the constructionand arrangement of the same with those shown in Fig. 5, the same wilinotbe shown in detail inFig. '7.

It will be obvious that the valve mechanism shown in Fig. 4 may besubstituted for that shown in Fig. 1, in which case it will serve tovary the effect exerted upon the diaphragm I! by the pump i6. When thussubstituted, the tube I! will be connected by a flexible tube (such asthe tube 26) with the chamber 45 in the casing 42 and the chamber 48will be connected by a flexible tube with the diaphragm chamber i8. Asthe valve 44 is opened, the stem 44 will close communication between thebypass 44 and the bore 41', and the amount of vacuum in the chamber i8will be varied in accordance with the extent of the opening of saidvalve.

Having thus described my invention, hat I claim is:

1. In combination with a source of current for an arc welding apparatus,a movable element for controlling said current, means for operating andcontrolling the position of said element, said means including ahousing, a diaphragm extending across said housing, a rod connected atone end to said diaphragm, a chamber being formed between the saiddiaphragm and a wall of said housing, a vacuum pump, a pipe connectingthe said pump with the said chamber, a flexible tube adapted to extendfrom said chamber to the place of work, and valve mechanism connected tothe end of the tube opposite the portion connected to said chamber forvarying the amount of vacuum created in said chamber by the said pump.

2. In combination with a source of current for an arc welding apparatus,a movable element adapted by its movement to vary the said current, andmeans for operating the said element, said means including a housinghaving a head, an abutment in said housing and extending thereacross, arod connected at one end to the side of the abutment remote from saidhead and at its other end to the said movable element, a source f fluidpressure supply and a conduit connecting the same with the head of saidhousing, a second conduit also connected with the head of said housing,and a bleeder valve in the second conduit located adjacent to the place01 welding. 3. In combination with a; source of current for an arcwelding apparatus, a movable element adapted by its movement to vary thesaid current, and means for operating the said element. said meansincluding a housing having a head, an abutment in said housing andextending thereacross, a rod connected at one end to the side or theabutment remote from, said head and at its other end to the said movableelement, a

source or fluid pressure supply and a conduit connecting the same withthe head 01' said housing. a second conduit also connected with the headof said housing, a valve in the second conduit, and manually operablemeans for controlling said valve located adjacent to the place ofwelding.

4. In combination with a source of current for an arc welding apparatus,a movable element adapted by its movement to vary said current, andmeans for operating and controlling the position of said element, thesaid means including' a housing having one end closed, an abutmentextending across said housing and forming a 10 chamber of variablecapacity between one side thereof and said closed end, a reciprocablemember connected to the said abutment and extending from the sidethereof which is opposed to the side which faces the closed end of saidhousing

